Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) shrugged off worries about lockdowns in China and global supply chain traffic jams with rocketing first-quarter profits and a higher production target for the year.
Tesla shares look set to bounce sharply after Wednesday’s (20 April 2022) 5% sell-off with pre-market data pointing to a more than 7% jump for the stock when trading opens on Wall Street later today. That implies that Tesla shares will rally back over the $1,000 mark to $1,048.
Even in the face of the ongoing supply chain problems, chief executive Elon Musk said he expects the electric vehicle manufacturer to deliver up to 1.5 million vehicles this year, up from his previous target of 1.3 million and the below one million shipped in 2021.
Total production in Q1 was 305,407 vehicles, with 310,048 delivered to customers, up 69% and 68% year-on-year, respectively.
RAMPING UP VEHICLE OUTPUT
Tesla began production and deliveries at its Gigafactory Berlin in March and at Gigafactory Texas in April. Both factories are expected to increase the production for Tesla moving forward.
‘We plan to grow our manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Over a multi-year horizon, we expect to achieve 50% average annual growth in vehicle deliveries,’ Tesla said.
Importantly, while raw materials prices have risen, Tesla has been able to pass on those extra costs to buyers. quarter including ship shortages, COVID-19 outbreaks and increased raw material costs.
This fed through to record Q1 results. Revenues came in at $18.8 billion, a rise of 81% on last year and almost $1 billion above Wall Street forecasts, while gross margins increased to produce yet more record profits.
Tesla reported earnings per share of $3.22, up 246% year-on-year and well ahead of the $2.26 consensus forecast. Net profits reached $3.3 billion in the quarter, up seven-fold from a year ago and more than $1 billion higher than the previous quarter.
Tesla made $5.5 billion net profit during the whole of 2021.
